Saying high times are over for those who sell pipes and bongs favored by pot smokers, federal agents raided more than 100 homes and businesses throughout the nation Monday, including a glass-pipe company owned by actor- comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.

The raids stemmed from the indictments of 50 people, including six in Northern California, who face federal charges of trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia.

Chong -- a man whose name is virtually synonymous with recreational marijuana use -- was not among those indicted, and he was not arrested during Monday's raids.

But the 64-year-old actor's Chong Glass company in Los Angeles was cleared of merchandise. A separate search of Chong's Pacific Palisades home uncovered a small amount of marijuana, according to a federal law-enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities called the people who were indicted some of the nation's most popular distributors -- through storefronts, web sites and wholesale outlets -- of the often elaborate, artistic contraptions marketed in head shops as ostensibly "for tobacco use."

Federal grand juries in western Pennsylvania and Des Moines, Iowa, returned most of the indictments as part of "Operation Pipe Dreams," which included the Northern California suspects, and "Operation Headhunter," which targeted head shops in southern Iowa. Drug Enforcement Administration offices in several states were part of the investigation.

'BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY'
"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded," said Attorney General John Ashcroft in a statement. "Quite simply, the . . . industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge. This illegal billion-dollar industry will no longer be ignored by law enforcement."

Family members of some of the Northern California suspects said they were angered by a 6 a.m. sweep Monday in which agents raided homes, handcuffed suspects and others, froze bank accounts and seized merchandise from shops and warehouses.

"Why after seven years in business does this happen? Why not just approach us?" said Fern Thomas, 29, a bookkeeper for 101 North Glass Inc. in Arcata, Humboldt County, which sells blown-glass pipes and other products to resellers.

Thomas's fiance, Jason Vrbas, was arrested along with co-owners Ryan Teurfs and Gabriel Watson. All three men are 29. Late Monday, the suspects were still in custody.

CLASHES ALONG HAIGHT STREET
Authorities have clashed with head shops -- best known in the Bay Area along San Francisco's Haight Street and Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue -- for decades over the sale of such items as hookahs, hand pipes and water bongs.

The debate, according to Steven Wishnia, a senior editor at High Times magazine in New York City, centers around "this weird semantic and semiotic definition applied to a piece of glass with a bowl at one end."

People who defend the sale of such pipes, he said, generally acknowledge they are meant for marijuana users. But many believe it's not a proprietor's business to predict the way a product will be used.

Chong, who made his name in shades of green with partner Cheech Marin and last year stayed in character by playing a hippie pothead on "That '70s Show," was shocked by raids on his business and his home, said his publicist Brandie Knight.

"It's awful," she said. "They're talking about war and everything else, and I can't believe they can't spend their time better. Chong Glass is artwork" -- it was the subject of a Hollywood art exhibit in November -- "and we've been very careful about saying it's for tobacco use only, and you must be 18 years or older (to buy it).

"We've done everything the right way, and the government is saying there is no right way." Asked if Chong currently smokes marijuana, Knight said, "No comment."

PENINSULA ARRESTS
On the Peninsula, agents arrested Waleed A. Zahrieh, 37, of Los Gatos, and Nessar David Zahriya, 39, of San Mateo. The pair allegedly sold illegal drug paraphernalia through businesses called Wicked Corp. and Sands of Time.

Reached Monday, Zahrieh's wife, who declined to give her name, said only that her husband sold items for tobacco use.

In Forestville, Sonoma County, agents arrested John Matthew Patrick, 38, who owns California Colorchangers, Inc. Its Web site, www.colorchangingglass.com, features an array of pipes and bongs. Its cover page states, "I agree to use the products offered herein for legal purposes only."

On Monday, authorities refused to go into detail about their investigations except to say they involved undercover work. They said businesses could no longer protect themselves by posting signs or Internet warnings indicating their products were for tobacco use only.

The suspects, if convicted, face a maximum of three years in prison, a $250, 000 fine, or both, for each count in the indictments.

what did they expect him to answer? the dude is the writter of Up in Smoke, made a movie in Amsterdam and both Cheech and Chong were Reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly high... hahahah TILL THE END OF THE MOVIE!!!

Old School

It sure sounds like somebody fucked up and was selling shit to people with the understanding that they were going to use it for illegal purposes.

7 years in business? Sounds like they got too comfy with it and started slipping. You can not even call a bong a bong at any of the headshops around here... if you want to buy it that is. They are â€œwater pipesâ€.

If the head shop workers were getting lax with this VERY important loophole, then ZAPPO. They had it coming.

It's the American way. You have to know how to cover your ass before trouble even starts. It is illegal to sell drug-using accessories. So just don't call them that, or allow people to buy them who do.

They'll get through this. I'm not worried about head shops in the USA becoming a thing of the past. All they have to do is be smart enough to not sell "drug paraphernalia".

I'm more worried about over-seas sites (ahem) that market these products directly as marijuana smoking accessories, or more specifically, the people who buy from the sites from the USA.

I'm gonna be really happy when the federal government gets kicked in the ass for this. These are people who are operating their businesses within every imaginable legal limit, and still they get fucked for it. I'm also pissed that they got to California Colorchangers. I was about to order a tube from them!

Old School

this is what i don't get.....why don't all the American public stand up and say....nooooo way....here in the u.k. you are innocent until proven guilty....i mean if i had a bong or pipe or anything for smoking then it's up to the police to prove that it has been used for illegill substances, and even better than that, they have to prove that it was me who smoked it........any of these products could be used for smoking tobacco, i men where do they draw the line....and old man smoking a pipe, is he doing something ilegill???...it is a pipe after all....it could be used for cannabis?

i don't mean this to be aimed at Americans for not doing anything, i just read it and realised it sounded like that, but surely if you went up for having a bong in your possession, then you could say....well prove that i smoked from it!! other than getting caught red handed, all you have is a bit of glass!!.....Peace out....Sid

Administrator

If there is the smallest trace amount of resin in a pipe that is in your possession then you're guilty. Period. It isn't right and if the law was really for the people (as it was intended to be) and not against them, then things might be different.

Budburner, I agree with you on the fact that some places may have gotten lax in how they ran their businesses. There are head shops around here and if you mention pot or any other slang term for marijuana, then you are asked to leave the business immediately. I've called around and everyone seems to still be operating as usual but with more caution. Apparently it is all about how you market the items and I'm a bit relieved by that. I was concerned that they were going to take everyone down in one big swoop. Not that they won't continue to try, of course.

Old School

Originally posted by sidious
this is what i don't get.....why don't all the American public stand up and say....nooooo way....here in the u.k. you are innocent until proven guilty....

Click to expand...

Same here. The trick here is to realize that honesty is not the best policy. Keep your lips shut and hire a lawyer and you'll be better off 100% of the time, rather than pleading guilty.

i mean if i had a bong or pipe or anything for smoking then it's up to the police to prove that it has been used for illegill substances, and even better than that, they have to prove that it was me who smoked it..

Click to expand...

Same here. There is a HUMONGOUS difference between getting arrested and getting convicted. Always always always remember that.

......any of these products could be used for smoking tobacco, i men where do they draw the line..

Click to expand...

When it has been used for illegal purposes or is in the vacinity of illegal substances where the assumption can be made that it was probably going to be used for illegal purposes. (again... big diff between arrested and convicted)

..and old man smoking a pipe, is he doing something ilegill???...it is a pipe after all....it could be used for cannabis?

Click to expand...

If there is no marijuana around to connect with the pipe, it's legal. Once you've crossed the criminal line by possessing marijuana, then you open the door to more trouble with stuff like this. If you're smoking a pipe, don't have pot on you. Easy enough.

i don't mean this to be aimed at Americans for not doing anything, i just read it and realised it sounded like that, but surely if you went up for having a bong in your possession, then you could say....well prove that i smoked from it!! other than getting caught red handed, all you have is a bit of glass!!.....Peace out....Sid

Click to expand...

And nobody gets busted for having glass. There are about 300 million Americans today. To read responses from fewer than 100 Americans doesn't provide enough information to justify that we are doing nothing. For the most part, what is there to do? Even if we are able to pass something on the state level.. we still have the feds down our pants.

We are doing something. In fact, I sincerely think marijuana will be decriminalized in my lifetime in America. It's just a matter of all the die-hards finally kicking the bucket. They just have it engrained in their brains that marijuana is a danger. There is more pro-legalization talk than ever... thank you internet.

Here in the states, it doesn't have to be proven that YOU smoked out of a bong for you to be in trouble for possessing it. If it is on your person and it has resin in it, you're busted for possessing paraphernalia. You aren't busted for marijuana use if you are only possessing paraphernalia.

Old School

see that's the thing here....paraphenelia is legal.....if i walked past a police officer and i was holding a bong apart from a telling off or confiscating it....he can't charge me...under Scottish law the police need 2 forms of proof to arrest someone and especially convict them....hence they'd need me to have the bong with hash in it and inhaling it.....and also have it in my possesssion, and even then we've had parties raided before for making too much noise and the cops have said, keep the noise down and....."smoke on".....can you beleive that!!....how cool...and fortunately for us....there is only one law.....not the cops and the feds.....Peace out....Sid

Old School

lol at the 2 radar guns....no what you do need for that is 2 police officers to view the reading on the gun, to prove that the person was in fact speeding.......as for the body, and the bullet......if they found a body and they had a suspect they would need to prove that he fired the gun that killed the person by proving that the bullet came from his gun or getting his prints on the gun that fired the buillet.....if they found another body, they'd have to link the person to it with say....1/motive 2/the weapon with prints,dodgy as a motive is hard to prove...........now how's about this for a weird one.....Britain decided to join the European union, which meant that a lot of european laws had to taken into account when arresting someone, but also incorporating Scottish and English laws into it.......example, and this actually happened......2 twins were travelling in a car and were stopped by the police, the car they were travelling in had blacked out windows and the cops beleived that they had changed positions in the car as they beleived the driver had been drinking.....when they pulled them over they asked who was driving?....under European law you have to say who was driving.....however under Scottish law you have the right to remain silent.....so the cops could not prosecute as the true identity of the driver could not be established....weird eh??.....Peace out....Sid